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Cearadactylus atrox
Isla Sorna Height: 5 feet Weight: 30 pounds Wingspan: '''22 feet ---- '''Coloration: : Adult (both sexes): '''Dark grey fur on the body, yellowish naked snout, wing membranes naked, leathery, and pink with the veins visible. In strong sunlight, one can make out shapes through them. : '''Juvenile: Same as adult, only the grey is very light, almost white. Preferred Habitat: Like Pteranodon "hippocratesi", the Cearadactylus ''bred on Sorna were never intended to roam free, due to the high aggression and ferocity of the adults. These fiercely territorial pterosaurs were quite wisely locked up in their own section of the vast Aviary - originally to be kept apart from the other pterosaurs as well as for the safety of the staff. However, the ''Cearadactylus ''have since managed to escape from the Aviary, and now roost in the Mountain Ranges. They nest high in the mountains and fly out to sea in search of food. '''Diet: '''Mostly fish, but it will readily kill and consume any creature unfortunate enough to intrude upon its territory. This may include others of its kind. ''Cearadactylus ''will occassionally try to breach into nesting colonies of female ''Pteranodon longiceps "sternbergi" or "Tapejara" in order to steal unprotected eggs and/or fledglings. 'Social Structure: '''Family groups consisting of a single male, one or four related females and young. ---- ''Cearadactylus ''is a medium-sized pterosaur, recognized by its long, slender jaws with menacing interlocking teeth. These jaws are designed for fish-catching, but they also serve as deadly weapons, or else they can be used for tearing flesh away from a carcass. It is these jaws and teeth which have earned the pterosaur’s nickname of “saw-dactyls”. The wings are leathery, and the body has a coating of downy fuzz. The first pterosaur cloned by InGen, ''Cearadactylus ''is easily the most aggressive and ill-tempered, perhaps even more so than the infamous ''Pteranodon “hippocratesi”. Both sexes of Cearadactylus ''are extremely territorial and for that reason, as well as the parents being fiercely protective of their offspring, fights between rivalling family groups are very common, often leading to deaths or severe injuries. It also will not allow any other creature to ignore its territorial boundaries, even T-Rex or Velociraptor. ''Cearadactylus ''will attack the invader ruthlessly by dive-bombing, striking with its spear-like beak or sharp grasping talons on its feet until the intruder either leaves or is killed. In some cases with smaller creatures, ''Cearadactylus ''may be so impatient to eliminate the intruder that it may try to snatch it in its talons to carry it away, often dropping it at a great height depending on the weight of the intruder and the strength of the pterosaur. The unfortunate intruder – once dead, will not go to waste, for ''Cearadactylus ''will often consume the remains. This may also include other ''Cearadactylus. Like owls, Cearadactylus ''are more active at night, as well as dawn and dusk when ''Pteranodon "hippocratesi" are more likely to be asleep. Vocalizations include long, low whistles, high-pitched screams, squeaks, gibbers, and also stork-like hissing. These pterosaurs are excellent flyers and, besides being capable of soaring great distances using rising air currents with minimal flapping, it can maneuver with incredible ease even in narrow spaces. Females will lay a single egg (two on rare occasions) in their nest and adults of the same family group each take turns to find food. Like Pteranodon "hippocratesi", Cearadactylus lay their eggs in nests at high altitudes where the young are safer from ground-dwelling predators. The infants are voracious from birth and are quite nimble on the ground. It generally takes them 3 to 4 years to grow completely and learn to fly. Both parents are attentive, and will bring them dead prey at first before the young grow older and larger, then they are able to chase and use “pack behaviour” to kill live prey that the parents bring back to the nest. This spectacular animal is easily recognized by its long, slender jaws equíd with menacing looking teeth; because of this trait, Costa Rican keepers in Jurassic Park usually refered to it as "sierradactilos" (saw-dactyls) or simply, "sierras". Cearadactylus feeds mostly on fish, but has been seen hunting other kinds of prey. They live near lakes and rivers and breed on cliffs and other places where dinosaurs can´t reach them. Males and females mate for life, and defend their nest fiercely. When the young is born (usually they lay one egg, rarely two), adults take turns to find food. Cearadactylus is surprisingly agile on land, and often adopts postures resembling those of land dwelling mammals; for example, it usually feeds while holding its prey with its foreclaws. Cearadactylus produces several different calls, specially a long, high pitched scream and also hissing, like that of crocodiles. Cearadactylus were the only large pterosaurs that were taken to Nublar as part of the Jurassic Park tour. Visitors were supossed to enter their aviary and see them flying freely above their heads. However, the animals turned out to be aggressive and umpredictable, often attacking their keepers by dropping on them from the top of the aviary. According to the main pterosaur keeper, "sierradactyls can close their jaws with incredible force but you can keep their mouth closed by holding them with both hands. This is the only way you can manipulate these animals without any risks, and of course, at least five men are required to handle one single sierradactyl". By the time the Park was devastated in 1993, Cearadactylus had been removed provisionally from the park tour, although not from Nublar.